FC Barcelona Handbol

FC Barcelona Handbol
Futbol Club Barcelona Handbol is a professional Spanish handball team based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is a part of the FC Barcelona multi sports club, and was founded on 29 November 1942. The club competes domestically in the Liga ASOBAL and in the European Champions League. It is the most successful handball club in Spain and Europe with a record number of domestic and international titles.
History
Early years
The handball section of Futbol Club Barcelona was founded on 29 November 1942 during the presidency of Enrique Piñeyro. In the beginning handball was played with eleven players per team and did not have a specialized field to play. They used football fields until the late 1950s, when they started to play, as in actual games, with seven players and a covered field.
In the early stages, competitions were dominated by other teams like Atlético de Madrid and Granollers, breaking their domination few times.
Valero Rivera era (1983–2003)
Things changed radically with the arrival of one of the best coaches in handball history, Valero Rivera. With him, the team became virtually unbeatable in Spain and in Europe, winning a record of 62 trophies under his rule, including 5 consecutive European Cups.
Post Valero Rivera era (2003–present)
In the summer of 2013, the Barça handball team, conducted by the head coach Xavi Pascual, won the IHF Super Globe trophy, the only trophy that was still missing from the club's trophy cabinet.
FC Barcelona’s handball team closed out the 2013/14 Liga ASOBAL with a record-breaking winning run. Barça made history this season when they completed their Liga ASOBAL without dropping any points from all 30 match days.
FC Barcelona successfully defended its IHF Super Globe title in 2014, marking the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since the most prestigious club handball event has been hosted annually in the Qatari capital Doha.
Again, FC Barcelona handball team ended the 2014/2015 Liga ASOBAL season unbeaten for the second consecutive year.
FC Barcelona handball team won the seven titles disputed the 2014/2015 season, something which had not happened since the 1999/2000 season with Valero Rivera's Dream Team.
In 2017 FC Barcelona handball was again champion of the IHF Super Globe after beating the German team Füchse Berlin.
In 2018, the club won the Super Globe trophy again, for the fourth time. In a repeat of last year the team of head coach Xavi Pascual won the IHF Super Globe Final against Füchse Berlin, this time by a five-goal difference, 29–24.
Again Barça won the IHF Super Globe in 2019, their third in a row. The team led by Xavi Pascual beat THW Kiel 34–32.
In 2021 Barça regain the European throne six years after the last title, winning the final against Aalborg Håndbold (36–23), at the end of an absolutely impeccable season: 6/6 titles and 61/61 victories. Xavi Pascual's team secured the section's 10th Champions League and also became the first team to lift the golden net, the new trophy for the European champions from this season, as a replacement for the bronze arm. The title concludes a season with an emotional ending, since it marks the conclusion of a cycle and the goodbye of several players, in addition to David Barrufet, Xavi Pascual and Fernando Barbeito. Former Dream Team player, Carlos Ortega was chosen to be FC Barcelona's new handball coach for the next three seasons.
In the 2021–22 season, after the successes achieved the previous season, the azulgrana certified a new sextet, where the only title that escaped was the Super Globe in October. The team won the Spanish Super Cup, the Catalan Super Cup, the Copa del Rey, the Sacyr ASOBAL League, the Sacyr ASOBAL Cup, and finally the Champions League. The team ended the season winning the 11th Champions League in Barça history. Barça revalidated the title in Cologne, being the first team to win two consecutive years with the new final four format, and extended its dominance in the historic record of the Handball Champions League.
Kits
Trophies
IHF Super Globe: 5 – record
2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019
EHF Champions League: 11 – record
1990–91, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2020–21, 2021–22
EHF Cup Winner's Cup: 5 – record
1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1993–94, 1994–95
EHF Cup
2002–03
European Super Cup: 5 – record
1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2003–04
Liga ASOBAL: 30 – record
1968–69, 1972–73, 1979–80, 1981–82, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
Copa del Rey: 27 – record
1968–69, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
Copa ASOBAL: 18 – record
1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
Supercopa ASOBAL: 24 – record
1986–87, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
Supercopa Ibérica: 2 – record
2022, 2023
Spanish Championship: 6 – record
1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1956–57
Catalan Championship: 10 – record
1943–44, 1944–45, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58
Catalan League: 12 – record
1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1996–97
Pyrenees League: 12 – record
1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
Catalan Super Cup: 11 – record
2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Double: 17
1968–69, 1972–73, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23
Triple Crown: 6
1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2014–15, 2020–21, 2021–22
Season by season
32 seasons in Liga ASOBAL
Season by season (B team)
European record
Team
Staff
Staff for the 2023–24 season
General Manager Xavier O'Callaghan
Head coach Antonio Carlos Ortega
Assistant coach Konstantin Igropulo
Assistant coach Tomas Svensson
Assistant coach Jordi Rosell
Goalkeeping coach Roger Font
Physiotherapist Sebastià Salas
Club doctor Josep A. Gutiérrez
Current squad
Squad for the 2023–24 season
Goalkeeper
1 Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas
12 Emil Nielsen
Left Wingers
13 Aitor Ariño
15 Hampus Wanne
Right Wingers
18 Blaž Janc
20 Aleix Gómez
Line players
11 Jaime Gallego
82 Luís Frade
99 Javier Rodriguez
Left Backs
9 Jonathan Carlsbogård
19 Timothey N'Guessan
22 Thiagus dos Santos
37 Haniel Langaro
Central Backs
6 Pol Valera
35 Domen Makuc
88 Petar Cikuša Jelicic
Right Backs
10 Dika Mem (c)
66 Melvyn Richardson
Transfers
Transfers for the 2024–25 season
Joining
Ignacio Biosca (GK) (from Telekom Veszprém) ?
Leaving
Transfers
Transfers for the 2025–26 season
Joining
Leaving
Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas (GK) (to THW Kiel)
Notable former coaches
Antonio Lázaro
Josep Vilà
Sergio Petit
Miquel Roca
Valero Rivera (1983–2003)
Xesco Espar (2004–2007)
Manolo Cadenas (2007–2009)
Xavier Pascual Fuertes (2009–2021)
Antonio Carlos Ortega (2021–present)
Notable former players
Mikel Aguirrezabalaga
David Barrufet
Joan Cañellas
Alberto Entrerríos
Raúl Entrerríos
Rubén Garabaya
Juanín García
Mateo Garralda
Òscar Grau
Rafael Guijosa
Demetrio Lozano
Enric Masip
Xavier O'Callaghan
Antonio Carlos Ortega
Salvador Puig
Lorenzo Rico
Albert Rocas
Iker Romero
Joan Sagalés
Víctor Tomás González
Cristian Ugalde
Iñaki Urdangarín
Arpad Šterbik
Andrei Xepkin
Eric Gull
Senjanin Maglajlija
Muhamed Memić
Danijel Šarić
Siarhei Rutenka
Marco Oneto
Patrik Ćavar
Davor Dominiković
Venio Losert
Igor Vori
Marko Kopljar
Michal Kasal
Filip Jícha
Lasse Andersson
Joachim Boldsen
Mikkel Hansen
Kasper Hvidt
Lars Krogh Jeppesen
Kevin Møller
Casper Ulrich Mortensen
Jesper Nøddesbo
Ali Zein
Kiril Lazarov
Borko Ristovski
Jérôme Fernandez
Nikola Karabatić
Yanis Lenne
Cédric Sorhaindo
Christian Schwarzer
Erhard Wunderlich
László Nagy
Aron Pálmarsson
Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson
Frode Hagen
Glenn Solberg
Kamil Syprzak
Bogdan Wenta
Alexandru Dedu
Konstantin Igropulo
Mladen Bojinović
Ivan Lapčević
Petar Nenadić
Dejan Perić
Nenad Peruničić
Dragan Škrbić
Jure Dolenec
Luka Žvižej
Mattias Andersson
Mathias Franzén
Magnus Jernemyr
Jonas Larholm
Fredrik Ohlander
Johan Sjöstrand
Tomas Svensson
Walid Ben Amor
Wael Jallouz
Petrit Fejzula
Milan Kalina
Zlatko Portner
Veselin Vujović
Veselin Vuković
Stadium information
Name: – Palau Blaugrana
City: – Barcelona
Capacity: – 7,500 people
Address: – Av.Arístides Maillol, s/n
References
External links
Official website
FCB Handbol on Facebook
Handball
Handball clubs in Catalonia
Liga ASOBAL teams
1942 establishments in Spain
Handball clubs established in 1942